Kenny Dillingham’s Michigan situation puts Arizona State back in familiar place

TEMPE, Ariz. — Athletics director Graham Rossini attempted to reassure Arizona State’s restless fan base on Thursday that the university is working to provide what coach Kenny Dillingham needs for the football program to thrive. It’s just taking time.

“As a sport, as an industry, we work with these long-term contracts,” Rossini said during his weekly radio appearance on Arizona Sports KMVP-FM. “The reality is the landscape of college sports is changing daily, weekly, very quickly. My perspective has been, all along, as you’re designing something long-term, the little details become the most important part of the big moments, so we got to get it right.”

This story has played out in two acts over the past week. The first unfolded last Saturday. Amid speculation that Dillingham might be a top candidate for Michigan’s head-coaching position, Dillingham expressed just how much it means to coach at Arizona State, his alma mater. He struggled to keep his composure, and much of the fan base relaxed, secure that Dillingham wasn’t going anywhere.

Three days later, Dillingham delivered a different message. Asked if he was relieved to put the Michigan rumors behind him, the 35-year-old coach pivoted to the industry’s craziness, at one point comparing it to the tech boom of the mid-1990s. Asked if he could put fans’ fear of his departure to rest, Dillingham said his job is to do whatever possible to help and protect those who are “in the foxhole” with him.

This puts Arizona State back in a familiar place, trying to figure out what it wants its football program to be. Under school president Michael Crow, the school has never had a five-star program. It’s always been more like former running back Cameron Skattebo, stretching for extra yards and proving people wrong. It’s not a coincidence that the Sun Devils have usually performed better as underdogs. It’s who they’ve always been.

But under Dillingham, the Sun Devils have flexed different potential.

Can’t win a national title? Last season, Dillingham took the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff, where they came within a fourth-down, overtime stop against Texas from advancing to the semifinals.

Can’t activate a difficult fan base? This season, Arizona State sold out its home schedule at Mountain America Stadium, the first time in memory the Sun Devils have done so.

In three years, Dillingham has gone from unproven head coach to one of the nation’s more respected program builders. He won three games in his first season and the Big 12 championship the next. He grasps the sport’s changing dynamics. He connects with those around him. And others have noticed.

For three months, Dillingham has been linked to the biggest job openings in the sport. Michigan is the latest, a school any young coach would find intriguing, Dillingham included. While his heart and family are in the desert, those close to him say he won’t stay at a place where he doesn’t think he can succeed, at least not long-term. Dillingham once talked publicly about staying at Arizona State for decades. He doesn’t do that anymore. Too much has changed within the sport.

“You’ve got to be able to adapt to continue to raise your level and operate, or you’re going to die,” said Dillingham, who’s 22-16 at Arizona State. “It’s unfortunate because you could go in one day with a plan, and the next day that plan sucks. It (costs three times more) to run that plan. You better be ready to have your plan, how to become three (times) what you just were four days ago, because four people at other institutions chose to be all in. Now you have to change things up if you want to be competitive.”

Dillingham has praised the administration’s support. In January, the Arizona Board of Regents approved an extension that placed him among the Big 12’s higher-paid coaches. State law prevents Arizona coaches from having longer than five-year contracts, but Arizona State included a rollover clause that awards Dillingham an extra year anytime the Sun Devils reach six wins and bowl eligibility. Their eight wins this season stretched Dillingham’s contract to Dec. 31, 2030.

But Dillingham has made it clear he needs more to keep the Sun Devils operating at a high level. The program needs additional staff, perhaps a general manager, and a bigger assistant-coach salary pool. Dillingham has also discussed engaging more high-level donors for better NIL support and the need for an improved indoor facility. (The latter is in the works.)

Crow has always recognized football’s importance, but he has done so cautiously. He was among the last school presidents to flee the sinking Pac-12 and leap onto the Big 12 life raft. He was against escalating coaching salaries and player compensation. But Crow has come a long way the past few years, something Rossini brought up on Thursday’s radio show. The athletics director said he hopes fans recognize the university’s recent track record of investing in the football program and how it has tried to position the Sun Devils for success.

And that it will continue doing so through its negotiations with Dillingham and his reps.

“I can promise you it’s my top priority,” Rossini said. “I can promise you we’re up all hours of the night working on details. This is a fluid, active, healthy conversation, in my opinion.”